Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit, said it was a normal practice for the government to form a new company each time it embarked on a new project.
“There is nothing abnormal about the company. It is a SPV that is owned by the finance ministry.
“So the fact that it has a RM2 start-up capital is irrelevant as it has the backing of the finance ministry,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby here today.
Rahman was responding to a question posed by PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli, who yesterday raised queries over the appointment of Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd as the head of the joint project between Malaysia and China.
Rafizi claimed that the ministry had failed to follow the proper due process which normally requires massive projects such as the ECRL to be presented to the Dewan Rakyat before the capital needed is disbursed.
However, Rahman said there was no need to do so and that he had tabled the proposal for the project to be discussed in the Cabinet as well as the National Economic Council.
“This project is a game-changer; it’s a big thing.
“This is the way to open up the economy of the east coast, especially in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
“So don’t make light of this project by making baseless assumptions.”
Rahman also rubbished claims that the ECRL project was one of the most expensive projects in the world and provided several examples to back this up.
“The 57km Bremmer rail project in Switzerland cost USD11.9 billion. The 177km rail line in Madrid-Volladoid, Spain, cost USD5.48 billion.
“Another rail project in Barcelona, Spain, cost about USD8.12 billion, running 48km.
“ECRL, on the other hand, will cost RM55 billion and will be 688km long.”
He said ECRL, which he expected to be among the most challenging engineering and construction projects in Malaysia, would unlock value for cities along the alignment, resulting in a boost in tourism and industrial activities.
Construction work is expected to commence next year and will take about seven years to complete.